A visit to Neuchâtel!

Today I had the pleasure to meet not one, but TWO Rotarians! I had been in contact with Monsieur Maillat, a retired professor from the Université de Neuchâtel (and of course a Rotarian :) ), for the past few weeks and we decided to meet in Neuchâtel this afternoon.

When we greeted each other we did the common Swiss greeting of 3 kisses on the cheeks (faire la bise). This is done by touching your left cheek to the other persons left cheek, then switching sides (right cheek to right cheek) and then switching back again to the left. I found this interesting because in France, if I remember correctly, it's only done twice. (I think it's interesting to see the subtle cultural differences between French speakers from different regions.) I also found it interesting that people do not hesitate to "faire la bise" when meeting someone for the first time. I originally thought that when two people meet for the first time they shook hands and then every meeting after would be the kisses- but apparently I'm wrong :) There are of course exceptions- I don't want you to think that all the Swiss do is kiss each other all day, no matter how entertaining that would be to see.

After leaving the train station, we went to a restaurant and sat outside on the terrace that overlooked Neuchâtel. The view was amazing. While there, M. Maillat pointed out the different areas of town and told me a little bit about the University.

Afterwards, we decided to tour the l'Université de Neuchâtel campus and even ran into a few professors who knew Prof. Maillat. While walking around campus, M. Maillat showed me the building where Rotary meets every Tuesday. It is a HUGE building- very classy (pictures will come at a later post). He told me that there were 100 members in his club alone (not TOO intimidating, right? :P) and that it was one of the oldest Rotary Clubs in the area. I've very excited about attending my first Rotary meeting!

After viewing the building, we decided to head towards the center of town. On our way there, M. Maillat asked if I had a Swiss Bank account yet and I said no. Lucky for me though, I had my passport with me (okay, so I sorta was hoping this would happen) and within minutes we were inside the BCN (Banque Cantonale Neuchâteloise) opening an account! I can now say that I have a Swiss Bank Account- How cool is that? :D

After opening the account, M. Maillat took me to the greatest place on earth. Remember that chocolate shop I wrote about in a previous post? That's right. We went there and it IS in fact owned by a Rotarian (one I was in contact with before I met M. Maillat)! The place smelled heavenly. You could almost taste the different flavors of chocolate roasting in the air.

After a few minutes, M. Walder came out from the back to greet us. His personality is just as vibrant as his chocolate :) Both men are very good-natured and have a wonderful sense of humor. Naturally, it made me think of the Rotarians back home and how helpful and great they are. It was a neat feeling to see the similarities between the two groups.

Before leaving the shop, I was given a parting gift:












CHOCOLATE!!! The Walder's were kind enough to give me two different kinds of chocolate (milk chocolate and dark chocolate. I am currently munching on the milk chocolate :D It is by far the best I have had in Switzerland - and I'm not just saying that. The outside has a bit of a form to it while the inside just melts away in your mouth. It's taking a lot of self control for me right now to NOT eat the bar in its entirety. I felt like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory when he opened his Wonka Bar and found the golden ticket. Only I bet my chocolate is WAY better).

After saying our good byes and our Merci Beaucoups! M. Maillat and I went to the student housing dorm/apartment I will be staying in. Part of the place is currently under construction (but "should" be completed by the time school starts). It offers a magnificent view of the Lake and of the city, while on the other side of the building are trees/mountains. I can only hope that I'm on one of the top floors... we'll see come September 1st :)

I feel like I got a lot accomplished today. I'm so glad I was able to meet with a few Rotarians- I feel much more acquainted with my future home thanks to them.


ps. I'd like to give a shout out to Liz who's about to have her District Interview for a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship! I wish you the best of luck! Being nervous is normal- just be yourself and remember to have a great conversation :D You got this!!!

Food, Glorious Foooood!

As I'm sure you can tell by the title of this entry, I've decided to devote a post to food (Hopefully you have Oliver! in your head now too! ).

Eating food in Switzerland has been an interesting endeavor. Not the actual act of eating mind you (that part is pretty easy), but the preparation of food has been more or less confusing.

Allow me to show you a few examples.

[image: the back of a mini pizza box. Click to enlarge.]

Note the different languages written on the box! In case I don't understand the French explanation, I can try my luck with German or Italian! My Spanish roommate, Susana, does this more than she admits I think. French and Italian are very closely related to Spanish. ( I once heard if you knew French and Spanish, you (essentially) knew Italian and vice versa for the other languages. I question the accuracy of that statement though...).

Difficulty of Preparation: Easy.


[image: the mystery directions box. Click to enlarge.]

Here's one that stumped me. This was one of the first food items I ended up buying at a small convenience store on a Sunday. I didn't really take a look at the directions (pictured on the right) until the other day when I decided to prepare it. What does it all mean??? Am I supposed to soak the package for 15 minutes in water before I stab it and shoot it with laser beams set to 650W? I'm pretty sure this does NOT go in my oven because my oven only goes up to 250ºC... but if not the oven then what? The microwave? Is 650W high heat? Medium heat? Why do I have to put it in water??? Suggestions anyone? Anyone? Anyone? Beuller?

Difficulty of Preparation: I'm still trying to figure it out.


Since food in Switzerland is rather pricey, I eat most of my meals at home by myself or with my roommates. I was able to eat out with Susana the other night though! Her program (she goes to the Université de Lausanne for her language training) held a museum and a dinner get together on Monday night and she asked if I would like to go. The plan was to tour the Musée Historique de Lausanne (Lausanne History Museum) and then eat at a restaurant that highlighted Swiss cuisine.

I'm not going to lie, I was in it for the food.

The museum was interesting- albeit, short because we only had about 45 minutes to an hour to tour it. Afterwards we went next door to the Cathedrale (I'll post pictures of this in a later post- my roommates and I had toured it over the weekend). Finally, around 7PM it was time for dinner! We (about 8 of us) headed over to Café de l'Evêché where a table was already set up for us. We had all ordered drinks and were looking over the menu when about 7 more people joined our group. I had one item on my mind for dinner that night: Fondue.

That's right. Cheese. Fondue is a specialty in Switzerland and I quickly understood why. It's amazing. There are a ton of different options to chose from and when they bring it out to you, it's in a huge bowl over a small flame. One person can't eat a vat of fondue by themselves- which is why I was lucky that there were at least 10 other people who also ordered it :) We all chose "Fondue au Fromage Moitié et Moitié" which meant it was made of half strong cheese and half bland cheese. It was delicious.




[image: thumbs up!]

This is my roommate Susana :) I really enjoy hanging out with her- we giggle a lot










[image: huge bowl of fondue!]

Since the bowl of fondue was cut off on the first image, I had the person across from me take our picture again. :P






When ordering fondue in Switzerland, the waiter will charge the fondue by the person- not by the pot. You do get an unlimited amount of bread to go with it though. They also have a saying that if you drop/lose your bread in the fondue, you have to buy a bottle of wine for the table.

I lost my bread.

Twice.


But luckily no one held me to this standard :)


Et Voilà! My experiences so far with the food in Switzerland!

First Impressions + First week

Now that I've lived here for about a week, I feel it appropriate to give my point of view of Switzerland. At a glance, everything I'd thought when I heard the word "Switzerland" was true. As soon as I stepped off the plane into Geneva I saw watch and chocolate adds :)

Chocolate

The Swiss are very proud of their chocolate. I don't think I understood the gravity of this statement until I actually went grocery shopping and found myself standing in the chocolate aisle (yes, an entire aisle dedicated to this delicious treat) for about 10 minutes deciding on what kind and what brand of chocolate I wanted. I haven't even set foot in an actual Chocolatier yet!

Watches

So far I don't have much to comment on this because I haven't been able to actually LOOK at watches yet. The bit I did see, however, blew my mind. Which brings me to my next observation...

Switzerland is Expensive.

Okay, I heard this one a million times before I left Houston- but it's not quite the same until you experience it for yourself. I knew what I was getting into, but I have to admit I wasn't prepared for the prices I see now. From what I've seen, clothing, and rent are almost the same as the United States: it just depends on where you go or where you live. It is possible to find an inexpensive place to live if you're willing to be a bit off the beaten path. The main thing that bothers me is the price of food. I have a hard time justifying 10-12 Swiss Francs (about $9/$10) for a half gallon of ice cream. I just can't do it no matter how much I love the stuff. I am definitely learning to become a thrifty shopper.

First Week

So far, my first week in Switzerland has been great! There are a few things I need to get use to though. The first one being that everything closes early and nothing is open on Sunday. Of course, there are a few exceptions to this. My first Sunday here I managed to find a tiny shop that sold various food items (nothing expansive like a grocery store, but the food got me through the day). The store also sold "Taxcards", a card that you can use for a pay phone so you don't spend an arm and a leg calling your mom and boyfriend back home :)

Finding out the name of this card was one of the more frustrating things I've been through so far. I must have asked at least 5 different people (in 5 different ways) where I could buy a phone card. None of them knew what the heck I was talking about. The closest I got to someone understanding me was when I accidentally asked for "une carte de mobile" meaning a pre-paid minute card for a cell phone. When I finally managed to explain what I was really looking for, the owner told me they didn't have what I needed. Fed up and frustrated, I decided to just use my debit card to call home. It was in the phone booth that I discovered what I needed was a "Taxcard".

People and "Les Draguers" aka the guys who try to pick up chicks

The people I've encountered in Switzerland have been extremely nice. No one has copped an attitude with me (a stereotypical trait of French speakers- also not true from my experience) and most people seem willing to help. There are those of course, who like to help a little... too much.

I am referring to "les draguers" (translated as "flirts" I guess). I'm currently trying to train myself to not let my eyes wander while I'm walking down the street. When it does happen (while I'm looking for something usually), I meet the eyes of a guy who thinks I'm trying to pick him up. Some take this as an invitation to start talking to me (or in one case, yelling at me from a balcony). Of course not all European men are like this, and this has only happened to me maybe 2 or 3 times since I've been here. There was one time when I sneezed while walking down the street and a guy, who was in his car with his windows rolled down, yelled "Santé!" (God Bless you) to me. I actually found this to be pretty amusing and told him thank you. :)

Institut Richelieu

My class at Institut Richelieu has been pretty intense- but in a good way. I feel like I'm learning French very thoroughly, which is exactly what I need. The professor can be a little much at times (because she talks and talks and talks and talks), but she's very helpful.

My classmates are also very nice. I haven't been able to hang out with any of them on a one on one level though. Hopefully that will change. A few of them are married (and seem to hang out with each other and their husbands), while others have jobs right after class.

Planète Bleue

This is where I've made most of my friends so far. I adore my roommates. I live with two guys from Turkey, Elnour and Ibrahim, as well as a girl from Spain, Susana. I hang out with Susana the most, but from time to time I hang out with Elnour and Ibrahim :) There are other people at Planète Bleue I've hung out with as well, but I tend to be around my roommates the most.

Welp, it's time for bed on my end- I hope this finds everyone well :)

Home-ish

Ahhh Friday- FINALLY :D

I've been looking forward to Friday all week. Not only does it mean that I get to sleep in (not that I've been able to do that recently, what with waking up at 4/5/6 AM every day this week) but it also means I get to explore the city a bit.

I also need to shop if only for the shear fact that I'm running out of clothes to wear and I don't have a laundry card yet to do laundry. I also want to fit in with the locals.

While out tomorrow, I have plans to take pictures of the city. Something I haven't been able to do yet for many reasons (forgot the camera, bad weather, passing out after class etc.). Hopefully the weather wont be too bad tomorrow.

Today has been an excellent day. I made an 8 on my French test (an 8 in Switzerland/Europe is really good. 10 is the highest you can get. This is according to Susanna, one of my roommates who is from Spain). After class, I went window shopping downtown and found a lot of stores I would like to check out tomorrow. While shopping, I stopped in a store called Globus and accidentally discovered that it was a grocery store- and a good sized one at that! FINALLY!
I bought some much needed breakfast foods (miniature liquid yogurts just weren't cutting it for me) as well as a few dinner items.

I would like to state for the record that food in Switzerland is expensive. Clothes and lodging are pretty much the same as the United States- it all depends on where you shop at or what district you live in- but food... man they kill you on the food. Coming from Texas where "Everything is Bigger" and then living in a place where you're not getting as much bang for your buck feels like highway robbery. Not only are the quantities small here, but they cost more. I don't think I've been this thrifty with food since college. I kind of like it :)

When I finally returned to the apartment at 2, I ran into Susanna. I had completely forgotten that she had mentioned getting lunch today. I felt awful and apologized and asked if she would like to get lunch tomorrow instead. I'm pretty sure she agreed. There's a definite language barrier between us. It's not huge, but it's enough to cause confusion. She then said that she was going to watch a movie in the common room and I asked her if I could join. She smiled and said yes and 20 minutes later, I was in the common room watching Braveheart in Spanish with English subtitles :)

It was a neat bonding experience. I like her. We practice our French on each other and giggle a lot :P

At the end of the movie, Susanna had to leave to meet up with a friend and I retreated back to my room. Around 7/8PM my other two roommates Elnour and Ibrahim (both from Turkey) came home and had brought a friend with them (who's name I cannot remember). Ibrahim asked me if I would like to join them for dinner (pizza!) and I agreed. While dinner was cooking, I talked to their friend a lot about Texas. He had gone to Austin a while back and we both started to talk about the Bats and then about Texas in general.

When dinner was ready, the four of us sat around the kitchen table and talked about Texas, Turkey, vegetarianism/veganism, Michigan (where Ibrahim and his friend studied) and FEMA. I explained to them what my job was and then briefly talked about Hurricane Katrina and how the Disaster response system works on the government level. It was a really interesting and fun conversation filled with laughter. I feel closer to those roommates now :)

I needed tonight. I'd been feeling very disconnected from everyone at Planete Bleue. A part of that is because some days no one would leave their room, while other days I would take extremely long naps after class and just missed everyone. In the past I've realized that if I go long periods (maybe just 2/3 days) without human interaction I get kind of down. I guess I just need to talk to people to make me happy :P

Permit de Séjour (Residence Permit)

As a foreign student in Switzerland, it was brought to my attention that in order to obtain a year long VISA I must go to the Cantonal Foreign Police of Neuchâtel and register myself as a resident. Note: the VISA I DID receive was only good for up to 3 months.

What was not brought to my attention was that this needed to be done within the first 8 days of my arrival. I was now on day 3.

Luckily, Cerena (another Ambassadorial Scholar from Virginia who will also be studying in Neuchâtel!) passed the news on to me. She found out from her Swiss Embassy that it was necessary to register as soon as possible. Thank God she told me or else ... well, or else I'd be illegal! And that would not be fun.

So I began to do some research. Everything I found said to go to the "Contrôle des Habitants". I would need to bring my passport (entry VISA included of course), 2 picture IDs, my acceptance letter to UniNe (Université de Neuchâtel) and my Letter of Financial Guarantee from Rotary. When I contacted the Swiss Embassy in Atlanta, I had two different people tell me two different things. The first person I spoke with told me to go to the Contrôle des Habitants, just like I was planning to do. The other person told me I was completely wrong. That I needed to go to the Migration Office and sort things out there. I was then given a website and I found out that I needed at least 3 more documents to bring with me. This was becoming more difficult than expected. By the time I discovered that I needed 3 more print outs, I did not have access to a printer. I decided to turn to my roommates for inspiration. One of them, Elnour, suggested that I talk to the man who owns Planete Bleue and who also happens to live here.

Feeling a little nervous, I rang the directors doorbell. A few seconds passed until finally an older gentleman answered. In my most polite French I apologized for disturbing him and asked if there was a printer I could use. His response could not have been more warm and welcoming. He went above and beyond in helping me and was extremely impressed that I was going to study Sociology in Neuchâtel.

All night I stressed about where I needed to go and if I was forgetting anything. I only had one shot at getting this done the right way. Note: Since it's the summer, a lot of people are on vacation and the Controle des Habitants office was only open from 8 to Noon this week.

I made sure to catch an early train to Neuchâtel and managed to find the office.

The process could not have been less painful :) It in fact, went a lot smoother than I was expecting (which was admittedly, the worst). I didn't even have to go to the Office Of Migration - the Controle des Habitants sent it over for me! I was in and out in about 20 minutes.

So, having much more time than I was expecting, I decided to explore the city I will soon be living in.

I am so excited. Neuchâtel is gorgeous... everyone seemed extremely nice and helpful, the city was clean, and I felt safe. I didn't feel like I disappeared in the hustle and bustle like I sometimes feel like I do in Lausanne.

I first decided to make my way to the Lake, which did not take long at all. All along the lake are bike/jogging paths...














After a walk along the lake, I went into the city a little bit.








And then discovered one of the greatest things to have come out of Switzerland...

Chocolate

EDIT! Okay, so this is just now occurring to me, but I think a Rotarian owns this shop! If it's the person who I think it is, he was actually the president of Rotary Club of Neuchâtel last year!

Mmmmm.... :D


So after about an hour of walking around, I decided that it was time to go back to Lausanne.

Even though I only had a small sample of Neuchâtel, I can tell that I'm really going to enjoy living there... :D

I made it to Switzerland!!!

After two flights, a train ride and a taxi cab I managed to make it to Lausanne :)

The flights were okay. I can't say they were the most comfortable jets I've flown in- but they did get me here in one piece! I first flew into Frankfurt and waited about 2 hours for my connecting flight to Geneva. Once in Geneva, I found the train station (which is conveniently located inside the airport!) and proceeded to the counter where a young Swiss man *wiggles eyebrows* helped me order a train ticket and explained to me in very clear French what platform I needed and how much time I had left before the train departed.

I have to say, Swiss trains/train stations are very "heavy bag" friendly. When I studied in France a few years ago, I remember having to lug my huge suitcase up and down stairs quite a few times AND THEN somehow manage to get it on the train (which was a good 2-3 feet off the ground. Not an easy thing to do when you've packed enough stuff for 4 months). Switzerland seems to understand the concept of making it easy for international travelers :P

The train ride from Geneva to Lausanne was beautiful. I wasn't able to take any amazing photos because various objects would block my view (trees, buildings, telephone poles etc.).

Once in Lausanne I decided to take a taxi to Planète Bleue, the apartment I'm currently in for the next month. I quickly get a cab and he takes me there without a problem. I pay him, he drives off and I enter the building. When I arrive on the floor Planète Bleue is on, No One is there.

Now, let's rewind a bit. Thursday, the day before I leave Texas, I send an e-mail to Planète Bleue letting them know what time I will arrive on Saturday (approximately 3:00/3:30 PM. I was asked to do this 2-3 days before my arrival so someone could meet me and give me a room (no one works on Saturday, that's why they wanted to know what time I planned to arrive).

Okay, back to where I left off: NO ONE was there. The doors are locked. Lights are off. No sign of life. Naturally, I begin to freak out. It is here that I am reminded of the words my friend Luan gave me before I left: "DON'T PANIC" (that's for you Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy fans out there ;) ) . I check my watch and realize that it is only 2:30. I have shown up an hour early. Okay. Okay. Still good. I'll just... sit here and... wait for someone to show up.

While I wait, I decide to get out my laptop to see if maybe I could use Skype to call the director of Planete Blue... or at least find alternative lodging. No luck. I can't get an internet connection despite the fact that there are at least 3 available networks. Then I hear someone come up the stairs. It's a student and he lives at Planete Bleue. I explain to him, Edouardo, that I'm supposed to begin my stay that day and he lets me into the main lobby area (Alright! I'm in!).

After a few seconds of talking to me, he leaves me in the lobby and retreats to his room. Not exactly what I was hoping for (which was a cell phone to call planete bleue or at least directions on how to get to a pay phone) but I'm grateful that I am no longer in the stairwell. It's about 3 o'clock now, and there is still no one in the secretaries office. I pull out my computer again and fiddle with the internet but still no luck. At 3:15 (no one yet) I walk around the main lobby area which is complete with a "baby foot" table (foose ball), a ping pong table, two couches and a book case with religious books and Lausanne guides. I pick up a guide and start looking at alternate lodging options.

At 3:25 I hear a noise across the stairwell outside of the lobby. A few minutes later I peak my head out the door (being sure not to close it behind me since the doors lock automatically) and find the director getting ready to LEAVE on the elevator after he had just arrived! After a huge sigh of relief and some jumbled French, he gave me a key to my room and showed me around.

I have to admit, I wasn't too terribly interested in checking out the place at the time. I was extremely tired and cranky- all I wanted to do was pass out. But now that I've been here for a few days, I'd have to say that the place is pretty cool! It's made up of international students who share a living space. Each person has their own room, but each apartment (made up of 4 rooms) shares a kitchen/hangout area. It's a great way to meet people! Currently, there are a lot of students here who all work together on an Intern Program (but I get the impression that they don't do anything because one guy was telling me about how he surfed the net all day, while one of my roommates, who is also in the program, didn't actually show up to work until after lunch- haha).

So far so good in the Land of Swiss. Tomorrow I have to apply for "un permis de séjour" (a residence permit) with the cantonal police of Neuchâtel, so we'll see how that goes. I did not find out until yesterday that this needed to be done within 8 days of my arrival and since the office is not open on the weekends, and for some reason all this week the office will not be open in the afternoon, I'll have to skip my language class tomorrow morning and hitch a train to Neuchâtel. I'm definitely excited about seeing the city I'll soon be living in- but I am definitely NOT excited about what I'll have to do while I'm there. I have this sinking feeling that they're going to ask me for something that I do not have, despite the fact that I've searched their website over and over to make sure I have what they're asking for. I guess we'll see! I'm hoping for the best!

Less than 24 hours...

I can't believe it's almost time for me to go. All of this feels so surreal and I'm almost embarrassed to say that I'm not ready yet (despite the fact that I've had over a year to prepare for this trip). I don't think I'll ever feel entirely ready for anything in my life though :) I function best when I dive headfirst into a situation anyway.

I feel excited and nervous. It really hit me today when I was looking up different ways to travel from Geneva to Lausanne and then from Lausanne to Planète Bleue that I would be leaving in 24 hours. For the next month I will be in Lausanne while I attend the Institut Richelieu for my language training. I'm really excited about this because I KNOW I need to brush up on my French. I remember telling a classmate, who is fluent in French, that I had forgotten the language. He insisted that it was not forgotten but only dormant. I have a feeling once I'm around it all of the time I'll pick it back up with no problems.

I guess we'll see. Here's to the start of a great adventure!

Things you should do before you leave the country...

In the spirit of me leaving in 48 hours, I have decided to compose a list of necessary things that need to be done before one leaves the country for an extended period of time.

What you need to do first

1. Get a passport. This is essential if you plan on leaving home... and then eventually returning home. The earlier you do this, the better.

2. Apply to your first choice University as well as some back ups.

3. Upon acceptance to your university, APPLY FOR A VISA! Don't be like me and wait a few weeks after you receive your acceptance letter. If you do decide to take the path I took, you'll find yourself receiving your visa 2 weeks before you're scheduled to leave. Just be ready to freak out.

4. If you're going to a country that does not speak your native language, make sure you take the Berlitz language exam. Your score will determine if you need a month long language training course.

5. Buy an airline ticket according to the Rotary Rules and Regulations.

6. ATTEND ASETS! You will learn a tremendous amount about Rotary and what you are required to do as a scholar. ASETS (Ambassadorial Scholar-Elect Training Seminar) will guide you way better than this journal probably ever will.

7. Return all required paperwork to your scholarship coordinator (copy of passport, visa, airline itinerary, language exam results, signed documents etc).

Other things you should do before you leave

1. Get a job and save as much money as possible. You never know when you might need some emergency money while you're abroad.

2. Go to the doctor and find out about shots, physicals etc. Don't forget about medications.

3. Go to the dentist!!! If you're like me and haven't been to the dentist in 4 years, you probably have some cavities (I don't care how well you brush!). 8 fillings and 4 pulled wisdom teeth later, I was glad I made the appointment. Still don't want to go? Let me put it this way, having to have a root canal in a 3rd world country cannot be pleasant.

4. Get new eyes. You want to be able to see your new experiences, right? :D

5. Visit your sponsor Rotary Club! :D I know this may be difficult if you're not in the same city (or state for that matter), but at least visit them once before you leave (be sure to ask ahead for club banners to take with you as well as District pins).

6. Contact your host Rotary club and keep in touch with them. This could make all the difference when you arrive in your host city. It could mean someone greeting you at the airport/train station/bus stop vs. having to figure it out for yourself with 3 bags weighing 50 lbs.

7. If you are arriving in a city you will not be studying in, be sure to check out what the city has to offer in terms of public transportation. Will you have to take a bus to your host city? Do you know how to get to the train station?

8. Have business cards made.



9. Make a contact sheet. Add emergency contacts, Rotarian addresses and phone numbers, other Rotary Scholars addresses and phone numbers, friends, family etc. Try to have a hard copy of this somewhere (like in a planner).

10. Invest in a camera or have someone else invest in a camera for you :)

11. Download Skype. Skype is a great way to keep in touch with friends and family. You can make free calls from your computer to other skype users who have it on their computer. Even if someone doesn't have skype, it's still pretty cheap to make a phone call to them. Oh yeah, the download is free too :)

12. Start a journal. Even if you only write a few sentences a day, you'll be glad you did when you look back on your trip.

**!!EDIT!!!** Look up residence permit information for your country. As a precaution, you should ask your consulate about this information. Ask them what you will need, and how long you have to obtain a permit once you arrive in your host country. Some documents I needed were: passport photos, my acceptance letter from my university, and my passport. It also helped to show my Rotary Letter of Financial Guarantee (this was sent to me via e-mail).

Welp, I guess that is all I can think of for now. If you would like to add anything to the list let me know and I'll be glad to post it. I'm sure I'm leaving out a lot of stuff.